MILLIONS OF MONARCH BUTTERFLIES MAKE THE LONG JOURNEY FROM CANADA TO MEXICO -- MANY STOPPING IN PACIFIC GROVE .... BIG SUR AND SANTA CRUZ... ALONG THE WAY. BUT SCIENTISTS SAY THE MONARCH MIGRATION IS IN JEOPARDY. IT'S A PROBLEM THAT'S CAPTURED THE ATTENTION OF THE WHITE HOUSE. ACTION NEWS REPORTER SALLY KIDD HAS DETAILS. ### PKG. SCRIPT:) NATS NATS: "This is my garden" A garden fit for a king. NATS: "They're coming in for the nectar" The monarch, king of the butterflies. Nicole Hamilton/Monarch Watch Conservation Specialist "They're laying eggs, they're flying thru our gardens, they're looking for milkweed plants to lay eggs on" Nicole Hamilton is part of a nationwide army of citizen scientists--on a mission to save the monarch. "We've been losing habitat at an astounding rate" In the 1990's more than a billion monarchs made the 2000 mile annual migration from Canada to Mexico. Those numbers have dwindled to an estimated 33 million today. Nicole Hamilton/Monarch Watch Conservation Specialist "To put it in real terms, you could fit all of the monarch butterflies on the planet --you could even include the ones in NZ and CA--into a typical sized Wal Mart" The plight of the monarch is drawing so much concern that the White House has set up a task force to address it. But much of the work is already happening on the ground-- NATS: "Hi kids" In towns and communities far away from Washington. NATS: "so, the first part of the life cycle is the egg of course" 9 year old Carter Steadman teaches other kids about the monarch-- NATS: "Milkweed is a very important plant" --and about the importance of restoring its vanishing habitat. NATS: "Milkweed!" It's earned him the nickname, "The Monarch Kid" Carter Steadman/The Monarch Kid "If they don't start planting milkweed, by the time I'm in high school they could be extinct" But there is some good news to report. The August butterfly count is up slightly this year. "We definitely attribute that to the better springtime weather we had" It's still too early to know if this year's migration will bring even better numbers, but there's hope. carter: "It makes me feel happy that the news is spreading and that we actually have a chance.." Thanks, in part, to the citizens scientists who are answering the monarch's call for help. ### SALLY KIDD REPORTING. CONSERVATIONISTS SAY THE MONARCH HAS LOST MORE THAN 165 MILLION ACRES OF HABITAT OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS. THAT'S AN AREA ABOUT THE SIZE OF TEXAS. ###